markley



Jne 30, 1959 J. M. MARKLEY Re. 24,663

MOTOR OPERATED VALVES Original Filed lay 10. 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A T7'ORNE Y June 30, 1959 J. M. MARKLEY MOTOR OPERATED VALVES Original FiledMay 10, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Null..

IN V EN TOR.

JOSEPH M. MARKLEY 4 rramvf'y United States Patent O MOTOR OPERATEDVALVES Joseph M. Markley, Plantsville, Conn., assignor to New EnglandGear Works, Southington, Conn., a partnership of Connecticut, consistingof Myron D. Markley, Meriden, Conn., and said Joseph M. Markley OriginalNo. 2,723,830, dated November 15, 1955, Serial No. 161,170, May 10,1950. Application for reissue November 14, 1956, Serial No. 622,232

1 Claim. (Cl. 251-134) Matter enclosed in heavy brackets appears in theoriginal patent but forms no part of this reissue specification; matterprinted in italics indicates the additions made by reissue.

This invention relates to motor-operated fluid valves and moreparticularly to a mechanism for electrically controlling the operationof the valve from a remote point.

One object `of this invention is to provide a device of the above naturein which a light-duty motor may be utilized for opening or closing arelatively large valve rapidly and eiciently.

Another object is to provide a valve-operating mechanism which may bereadily applied to existing valves of the type having a sldable,spring-pressed, operating stem.

Another object is to provide a device of the above nature having a valveopening cam which is so arranged as to permit proper seating of thevalve disk, even though said disk may have become worn or mutilated.

Another object is to provide a device of the above nature in which theoperating motor will be permitted a substantial amount of overtravelwithout adversely affecting the fully opened and closed positions of thevalve.

`A further object is to provide a device of the above nature which willbe simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to installand manipulate, ornamental in appearance, and very efficient and durablein use.

With these and other objects in view, there has been illustrated on theaccompanying drawing, one `form in which the invention -may convenientlybe embodied in practice.

In the drawing,

Fig. l is a front view of the improved motor-operated valve mechanismshown partly in section and partly broken away to illustrate the partsas they would appear when the valve is closed.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, partly in section.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View of the same on a largerscale.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional front View similar to a portion ofFig. l, but showing the parts as they would appear when the valve isopen.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the improved motor operated valve.

Fig. 6 is a wiring diagram showing one manner in which the motor and theswitch may be connected to an external control means.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the swingable stem actuating roller, thestud and the laterally extending pivot bearing sleeves.

Referring now to the drawing, in which like reference numerals denotecorresponding parts throughout the several views, the numeral 10indicates a valve body having opposite tapped inlet and outlet openings11, 12 and an intermediate circular valve seat 13 disposed in a plane atrightangles to said openings. The valve body 10 preferably is markedwith an arrow 13a (Fig. 5) to indicate the proper direction of flowthrough the valve, thus fa- Gilitating installation of the valveoperating mechanism.

Fluid flow between the inlet and outlet openings I1, 12 is controlled bya yieldable valve disk 14 which is'retainlefd in a cup-shaped holder 15by` a nut 16 on an upstanding central stud 17 in said holder, and whichis adapted to be pressed upwardly against the valve seat 13 by a coilspring' 18 held in a hollow plug 19 closing Vthe bottom of they valvebody 10.

In order to sepa-rate the valve disk 14 yfrom the seat 13 (Fig. 4) andthus permit fluid ilowthrough the valve,4 provision is made of a sldablevalve stem 20 which is aligned with and engages the stud 17 within thebody 10,1

the upper portion of said valve stem 20 extending out-` 'wardly througha threaded neck 21 on said body. Out` ward leakage of diuid around thevalve stem 20 is prevented by means of a suitable packing 23 retained byn; nut 22 on the end of the neck 21.

Mechanism for mechanically operating the valve stem' 20 is contained ina casing 24 which comprises detachable front and back bearing plates 25,26 held upon said casing by screws 27, and a downwardly extendingcentrally apertured yoke 28 integral with said casing. The yoke 28embraces the valve neck 21 and is clamped against aat annular surface 29on the valve Ibody 10 at the base of said neck by means of a nut 30.When the casing'and the valve are assembled in this manner, the upperend of the valve stem 20 projects into the casing 24 through'an aperture31 in the bottom thereof, so that said stem may be operated by mechanismnow to be described. Since the yoke 28 is attached to the valve body 10concentrically with the stem 20, it will Ibe seen that the casing 242may be rotatively adjusted as desired,'either during in'- stallation orthereafter. t

The valve operating mechanism is adapted to be driven by a motor 32(Fig. 2) which comprises a stator 33A mounted in a horizontallyextending position upon a plurality of posts 34 on the outer surface ofthe bearing plate 26. The `driving motor 32 also includes a rotor 35which is embraced by the stator 33 and which has a horizontal shaft 36extending into the interior of the cas-'- ing 24 through a bearing 37 inthe bearing plate 26.

The inner end of the rotor shaft 36 is provided with a pinion 38 fordriving a speed-reducing gear train com-v prising successive gears 39,40, 41 and 42 .having respective pinions 43, 44, 45 and 46 attachedthereto, said -gears being arranged in overlapping alternate arrangementand freely rotatable upon a pair of horizontal shafts 47, 48

supported by the bearing plates 25, 26.

In order to facilitate assembly of the operating mechanism, thehorizontal shafts 47, 48 preferably have press fits in apertures in thefront bearing plate 25 so as to be securely attached at one end tosaidplate, while the opposite ends of said shafts are slidably supportedin aperturgat` in the back bearing plate 26.

The final pinion 46 of the gear train is meshed with a relatively largegear 49 xed upon a camshaft 50, the latter being mounted at its ends inball bearings 51, 52

held in recesses 53, 54 at central locations in the inner' surfaces ofthe bearing plates 25, 26.

The camshaft 50 carries a valve-opening plate cam 55'- adapted to engagea roller 56 which is located below said cam and which is mounted upon alaterally-extend-v ing stud 57 upon the end portion of a verticallyswingable in the valve is under high pressure, the swingable 58 isprovided with a base portion 59 whichis laterallyenlarged so as toextend across the plane of the roller'l 56, and which is mounted at itsother endup'on a horizontal pivot shaft 60 held at its ends in theopposite 3 1 plates 25, 26; .Thus ity will be seen that rotation of thecam 5,5` will be capable of reciprocating, the valve stern 20 ecientlywith a minimum of wear upon the arts.

Reex-'ringnowto Figs. 1 andf 4 it will be seen that the Halve-openingplate camSS has an eccentric shape which respective; opening and closingmovements of thevalve stem 20' when said cam is rotated throughsuccessive steps of 1.80 degrees in the same direction, the point or.minimum radius of said cam 55 preferably occurring at approximatelymid-point of an eccentric odge portionl. which extends at least half wayaround i Further, theV radius of the eccentric cam poris such that asubstantial. clearance will occur the low pointA of. said cam 55 and thecam folo' roller l56 when the valve disk 14 is in closed positiomY thusavoiding. any interference with compl-ete closing. ot the valveI andinsuring that the valve disk 14 will seat properly even though said diskmay have become worn or deformedk because of prolonged use.

. It will also be noted that the clearance which is permitted. betweenthe low point of the cam 55 and the roller will'. allow overtravel ofthe driving motor 32 when tficvalvedisk 14. reachesh closed positionwithout causing thecliskl 14 tofstart an opening` movement.

order to permit overtravel of the driving. motor 32 whenthevalve diskf14reaches a fully open position, the

radius of the valve opening cam 55 is provided. by a` concentric highportion 62 which extends over azsubstantial part of -the'periphery ofthe cam.

Irr view of the ahove,'it will be understood that the motor 3,2y maycontinue to rotate for substantial of time: after-.thevalve disk 14 hasreached fully closed and vfully opened` positions without causing anyadditional movement of said disk, and' without interfering.

in any, way with the proper action of theA valve closing spring.

In order .to adapt the driving motor 32 to automatic control fromlanexternal source, provision is made of a snapactionl double-,throw limitswitch 63 of. any suitable type having apair of contacts 64,. 65 (Fig.6) which are alternatively engageable by a1 contact` arm 66 providedwith an external; operating, button 67. The operating button 67 isiadapted: to be; moved by a limit cam 68 which is fixed` upon the cam:shaft 50,- and which acts upon said 'button-` ythrough an anti-frictionroller 69 mounted on an intermediate springj armr 70? attachedexternally to the limit switch 63.

Theperiphery of the limit cam 68 comprises inwardly and outwardlyinclined. cam portions 71, 72 which are so; located. as toV operate thelimit switch 63 in opposite directions; as the@ valve disk? 14 reachesopen: and closed positions, respectively,

Asillustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 6, the limit switchr arm 66- iselectrically connected directly to the driving motor 32 by means ofaninsulated wire 73. The limit switch contacts. 6.4-, 65 may, forexample, be independently connected-1 by meansk of insulated wires 74,75 tog-respectivo contacts 77,. 78 of a suitable thermostaticorfwothercontrol. switchl 76 which may be'. located. at a remote pointand which comprises. a switch. arm 79 for silictivelysengaging: said:contacts.. The switch. arm 79 Wilmot course; be connected to thedriving.: motor 32 in.

series-1with1-a source"l of: current 80.` by means of wires'- The` outerface; of. the bearing. plate 26 carries a terminal block 83 (Fig: 2.).whichwill facilitate the operation ot connecting the motor operatedvalve mechanism to` the. externalwires 74, 75; and482. duringinstallation. The

motor; 32:: and the, terminal block 83 are prefer sr-.1 by.l a movable.side: cover 84 which is (sie 5)...

order` to. furnish. a. for. visually indicating the toiseat'fat its'.edges against the. bearing plate 26' position of the valve disk 14 atany time, the valve stem 20 is provided. with a peripheral index groove85 which is so located adjacent the upper end of said stem as to bevisible within the yoke 28 below the casing 24 only when the stem 20 isdepressed and the disk 14 is in open position.

OPERATION In use, the valve will first be inserted in the fluid linewhich is 4to be controlled by connecting the proper pipes to the inletand outlet openings 11, 1.2. The arrow 13a will, of course, indicate tothe installer the proper direction of ow so that he may avoid a reversedrelationship of the valve to the connecting pipes.

If it is desired to adjust the casing rotatively with respect to thevalve body 10 because of space requirements, or for other reasons, thisVmay'l be done after loosening the yoke clamping nut 30.

Thewires 74, 75 andthe wire 82 will` then be employed to connect thelimit switch 63 and the drivingmotoxfv to the remote control switch 76and the source of current` respectively.

It will usually be important to know whether the valve is in open orclosedv condition before it is" placed in service and this conditionVwill be determined merely by observing the position of the index mark onthe val-ve stem` 20.

When the apparatus is inv condition for operation, engagementof thecontrol switch arm 79 with the contact 77 or 78 will establish a circuitthrough they limit switch 63", the motor 32, and the source of current'80, thus causing the val've disk 14A to open or close with respect" tothe valve seat 13, as the case may be. If, for example,- the valve isclosed (as indicated by the positions of the parts in Figs. l, 3` and6), movement of the contr-oi` switch arm- 79 against the contact 78 willenergize the motor 32, thus rotating the valve opening cam 55 whichwill' depress the arm. 58 and the valve stem 20 so as to separate thevalve disk 14 from the seat 13. When the valve disk 14 reaches fullyopen position, the cam ,folY lower ork roller 56 will ride onto theconcentric high portion 62 of the cam 55 so that no further movement ofthe'valve disk 15 will occur, and at the same time the roller 69 will bedeiectedI by the outwardly inclined portion 71 of the limit cam 68, thustransferring the limit switch arm 66 from the contact' 64 to the contact65 and d'eenergizing the driving motor 32'. Anyv further incidentalrotation of the motor 32 due to its momentum will produce no furthermovement of the valve disk 14, inasmuch as the concentric cam portion 62is of suficient extent t'o avoid such movement.

The parts will now occupy the positions illustrated` in Fig. 4, and ifthe control switch arm 79 is now shifted from the contact 78 to thecontact 77, the driving motor' 32 will again be energized and willresume rotation in the same direction as formerly. This will cause thecam roller 56 to ride off of the high cam portion`r 62 and onto the loweccentric portion 61 of the valve-opening cam 55, thus permitting thevalve spring 18 to close* the valve disk 14 against the seat 13.

At the time the disk 14 engages the seat 13,y or slightly thereafter,the inwardly inclined portion 72' ofl thc limit' cam 68` will releasethe anti-friction roller 69 so as'4 to permit the switch arm 66 to shiftfrom the contact'65' to the contact 64, thus deenengizing the motor 32;Any further rotation of the motor 32 due to its momentum Willi have noeffect upon the closed position ofthe valve disk 14 linasmuch as thevalve opening cam 55 will now be separated from the cam follower 56 (as`shown in Figs; l and 3), thus providing a clearance which` will permitthe valve springv 18 to take full. eect for seating, thek valve disk 14.

'Ifhe motor. operated valve hereinv found` to be dependable. and capableof contmlliirlg,.veii'yy high fluid pressures because ofits durableVconstructionl and the high mechanical advantage through which the motoracts upon the valve stem.

Another advantage is that the casing 24 may be readily removed from the'valve body 10 without opening the, valve body or `disturbing theconnections of the pipes thereto. Thus, the casing 24 may be removed orreplaced without any substantial interruption of service in the iiuidline.

While there has been disclosed in this specification one form in whichthe invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that this form isshown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention isnot to be limited to the specc disclosure, but may be modified andembodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit. Inshort, the invention includes all the modilications and embodimentscoming within the scope of the following claim.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new, andfor which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

In a motor driven lluid control valve comprising a valve biased toclosed position in a housing, a casing mounted on said housing, anoperating stem connected to said valve and extending into said casing, amotor driven gear train in said casing, a rotatable cam having high andlow points `driven by said gear train, a stemoperating arm `connected atone end to a pivot shaft mounted in said casing and having on its otherend a lateral member comprising a [ball bearing] follower mounted on alstud olset from said arm, said follower being aligned with said cam andadapted to contact therewith, a portion of said cam having a clearancefrom said roller when said valve is closed to permit overtravel of themotor while said valve remains properly seated, said arm also ha'ving apair of enlarged lateral sleeve bearings surrounding said pivot shaft,and a second cam fixed for rotation with said first cam and spacedtherefrom and operating a switch in an energizing circuit for the motorto shut olf said motor after a predetermined operation of said valve.

References Cited in the ile of this patent or the original patent UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 1,279,650 Bungay Sept. 24, 1918 1,319,502 Wright Oct. 21,1919 1,482,774 Wills Feb. 5, 1924 1,839,483 Humphrey Ian. 5, 19321,849,274 Brown Mar. 15, 1932 1,855,647 Pottenger Apr. 26, 19321,875,672 Stewart Sept. 6, 1932 1,903,229 Colman et al Mar. 28, 19331,903,230 Stewart Mar. 28, 1933 1,966,336 Dewey July 10, 1934 1,989,942Parks Feb. 5, 1935 2,039,300 Drake May 5, 1936 2,119,084 McQuiston May31, 1938 2,184,701 Kreitchbaum Dec. 26, 1939 2,205,512 Anderson June 25,1940 2,229,499 Fisette Ian. 21, 1941 2,437,552 Quiroz Mar. 9, 19482,456,403 Goehring Dec. 14, 1948 2,630,832 Lutherer Mar. 10, 1953FOREIGN PATENTS 891,515 France Dee. 11, 1943

